Testimonials

As a newly accredited center, I cannot recommend SAGECare's cultural competency training enough! As the lead for this initiative at the New Hanover County Senior Resource Center, I was grateful that working with SAGE meant working with individuals who were responsive, supportive, and clear in their instructions for how I could facilitate this training staff-wide.

The trainings are well organized, easy to follow, and incredibly informative. I took each of the 9 self-paced training opportunities and learned so much about the unique needs of LGBTQ+ older adults and how to implement best practices to ensure our Senior Center is welcoming and inclusive.Emily Ford - Community Engagement Specialist, New Hanover County Senior Resource Center, North Carolina

I am writing to express my deep appreciation for the exceptional service and training provided by SAGECare. As a client of your organization, I am proud to share how your DEIB efforts have significantly impacted our current (and future) residents at Kendal at Ithaca.
The training offered by SAGECare has helped our leadership, direct care providers, and staff create a more inclusive and welcoming environment for LGBTQ+ individuals. It aligns with Kendal's core values of recognizing and valuing uniqueness, welcoming and treating individuals equitably, and listening to everyone’s unique stories, needs, and perspectives.
As the Workforce Development representative of Kendal at Ithaca, I am proud to announce that our organization has achieved Platinum Certification, in part due to the seamless integration of your training into our learning management system. Your team's personalized timeline and goal setting were instrumental in meeting our organizational needs. Your staff's support and guidance helped us easily achieve our certification.

Megan Fretto - Workforce Development & Engagement Specialist Kendal at Ithaca, New York

The Hebrew Home at Riverdale partnered with SAGE to obtain the coaching, skills, and technical assistance we need to treat LGBT residents with respect. SAGE's professionalism and expertise have made them ideal partners, and we look forward to working together on more staff development and organizational change.

Ellen Burke, MBA, SPHR - Vice President of Human Resources, Hebrew Home at Riverdale

On behalf of the staff of CCCI, I wanted to warmly and enthusiastically thank you for your excellent presentation on LGBT aging here at CCCI. I believe that this presentation made a real impact on the attendees and I think positive changes in our care management practice will follow as a result. We can't thank you enough!

Julie B. Follo, RN, MSN, CMC - Educational Services Supervisor, Connecticut Community Care, Inc.

The Visiting Nurse Service of New York, the largest not-for-profit home health care organization in the nation, has been providing home and community-based health care to New York’s diverse population since 1893. Our nurses were among the first health care professionals to deliver compassionate home and hospice care during the early years of the AIDS epidemic. Today, VNSNY is the largest provider of home care for trans women. But SAGE Care training has taken us to a new and critically important level, ensuring that our staff is equipped to serve the city’s 750,000 LGBT men, women and children-- and our LGBT elders in particular--with compassionate, respectful and supportive care. SAGE trainers have been extraordinarily adept at communicating the importance of cultural competence training as well as teaching vital skills to our staff of over 10,000 nurses, therapists, behavioral health professionals, social workers, home health aides and office staff. SAGE training broke down many barriers, whittled away at stereotypes and very much won the hearts of thousands of our straight employees. As we moved through the process—which is now moving into its second year—it was remarkable to experience the numbers of people who were deeply moved by the training, enabling a new level of home care for aging and chronically ill LGBT New Yorkers. Thanks to SAGE, VNSNY is a better organization and New York City’s aging LGBT population is able to live in a safer and healthier world.

Richard J. Rothstein - Vice President, Enterprise Communications, Visiting Nurse Service of New York

The training was very impactful and sensitizing. I am grateful for it and feel significantly more empathic to LGBT issues because of it.

2015 participant -

In a discussion with a co-worker, I was able to provide her with some information on the challenges LGBT seniors face that other seniors don't. She asked a lot of questions which I felt comfortable answering and I believe she has a new perspective on working with seniors.

2015 participant -

(At this community) I was never asked how many children I have. So I was never asked why on earth someone like me doesn’t have children. Or why I’m not married. Every time I hear those questions I feel sad, helpless and vulnerable... But no one (at this community) asked why. It took several months at home to realize – it must be a policy of (this community). It required great insight and sensitivity by the people responsible for that policy. It allowed me to let down certain defenses and be cared for.

An LGBT resident living in a community trained by SAGE -